Summer Splash Blog Hop WINNER!

Congrats to MARY ENDERSBE for winning this stop of the 2013 Summer Splash Blog Hop!

Mary’s answer to the question: “The rough draft of Part One of the Sixth Volume of the Norothian Cycle numbered 51,211 words. What is the word count of the edited version?” was 49,324 was only 348 words off the actual answer of 48,976. That might seem like I cut a bit over 2000 words off the first draft, though actually I think I probably cut about twelve-thousand, then added another ten. Writing! 😉

Thanks much to all who entered, and to all who downloaded The Sable City while it is free, I hope it is enjoyed. I will go ahead and redact e-mail addresses from the entries so they are not floating around the interwebs forever. Thanks for hopping by everybody, and congratulations, Mary. I’ll be in contact soon, and get your books to you. 🙂

Ed McNally

 

Summer Splash Blog Hop, July 26-29

Hello, and welcome to the Sable City tour stop on the 2013 Summer Splash Blog Hop. I’m Eddie McNally, and I will be your… um, Bellhop, I guess?

The Sable City is the first book of an epic, muskets & magic fantasy series called The Norothian Cycle, starring a feisty Island Guilder named Tilda Lanai. For the duration of the Hop, the first book is available for (wait for it) FREE on the major e-reading devices, including Kindle (US and UK), Nook, the iStore, Kobo, and via Smashwords. Do feel FREE to help yourself, and get started on Tilda’s tale.

Now for the contest. As I remain a simple, simple man, I am offering e-copies of volumes II through V of the Norothian Cycle to one lucky hopper who will be selcted via the simple expedient of asking the equivalent of “How many jellybeans are in the jar?” Not literally of course, but rather like this:

“The rough draft of Part One of the Sixth Volume of the Norothian Cycle numbered 51,211 words. What is the word count of the edited version?”

For your chance to win the next four volumes of the Norothian Cycle, which retail regularly for $4.99 each, just leave a guess as to the word count as a comment. Please also mention a way you can be contacted, if you don’t happen to be commenting with a profile I can send a reply. At the conclusion of the Hop, the closest guess to the correct number wins the prize – it’s as simple as that!

Thanks for hopping by and playing, remember to register for the GRAND PRIZES on the main Hop page, and do feel FREE (saying that one more time) to check out The Sable City. On the house this weekend.

Good luck and good reading,
– M. Edward McNally
– return to Hop –

 

The Norothian Cycle Book 6 – July Update

Hi, I’m Eddie McNally, and it has been two months since my last blog post.

Nothing much has happened in the intervening weeks mind you. Writing Book 6 continues to take up most of my time, and while I think I am on pace for a release this year, I have to admit it is really slow going. Readers of The Norothian Cycle may have noticed a preponderance of plotlines unspooling throughout the first five books, and as John the Red is the last installment, all those loose ends have to come together. Also, I feel it would be nice if they came together in a readable fashion – so that takes a bit of doing.

Just as a for instance, here are five ongoing issues from the first five books I’ve already found myself wrestling with, while still on the first part of Book 6. And yes, they all involve characters who might be termed as either “secondary” or even “tertiary.”

Ongoing issues from:

The Sable City – Will Amatesu ever really be able to forgive herself for what she did to Uriako Shikashe’s family?
Death of a Kingdom – Is Karza ever going to get some comeuppance, or is that evil jerk going to keep skating?
The Wind from Miilark – Will Rhianne ever find someone else to love?
Devil Town – Pagette can’t keep popping up working for different governments without somebody finally putting him in front of a firing squad, can he?
The Channel War – Is there really any cap on Claudja Perforce’s ambition?